Martinsburg independent. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1875-1900, 1887-12-24
IN AN OPEN BOAT.

hospital, Brooklyn, may be seen sailor at
work on a sketch of wrecked bark sinking
In a stormy sea- The sailor is an elderly man,
but he works away with confidence, and there
Is something about his picture that indicates
at once that the man knows all about the
scene he is portraying. Such, in fact is the
Ease, for the picture accurately represents the
disaster which resulted IN landing him in the
hospital, while four of his shipmates lost their
lives out of hand, the rest having been saved
only after floating about in an open boat at
sea, with no food worth mentioning, for more
than week. The old man is David Lund-
blad and he was the carpenter of the Swedish
bark Augusta that foundered at sea late on
the afternoon of Saturday, Oct. 10, 1887.
The Augusta sailed out of Swansea with a
cargo of coal, bound for Aspinwall, on Sept.
S, under the command of Capt. NJ. Maier,
and was manned by crew of fifteen, all told,
including stout young British cabin boy
named Tom Masten, who was shipped at
Swansea. The voyage out for more than
month was as pleasant as one could ask for,
there being a succession of favoring winds
until after the Azores had been left astern,
where the northeast trades were found and
carried day after day without starting o
brace. On Thursday, Oct. 10, Capt. Maier
dlbtl hlliB ouo LIS AApSiA ScoSi w
lions, that he was in latitude Is dogs north
and longitude AZ degs west The sky did not
look very favorable just about that time, and
the barometer was falling, but Capt. Maier
had no idea that he had worked out his last
problem in navigation when he announced
the position of the ship and her course to
Mate Spangberg few minutes later. The
wind held to the northeast, but il in
creased in force and the weather got Thu TX so
that the lighter staysails royals and t0pgal-
liant sails were taken in before nightfall The
men were all kept on deck during the dog
watches slowing the lighter sails After
o'clock, finding the wind still increasing rap
idly in force, Capt. Maier got in the spanker
and then hauled up and furled the main
course, and put up the ship square before the
wind, which was then hauling to the east
ward The rain fell in solid sheets, and the
darkness was such that the men had to feel
their way about decks and up aloft in short
ening sail. 1t was not until after midnight
that the canvas was snugged down to suit the
captain. There were then set the two main
topsails the foresail, and fore lower topSail,
and the forestaysaiL There was a heavy,
short sea running that made the vessel labor
very hard, but when the pumps were tried,
soon after midnight, she was found to be dry.
At daylight on Friday morning the wind
had settled into gale dead from the east
ward that drove the deeply laden bark
through the ugly black waves in way that
strained the hull spars and canvas terribly.
The sea would sweep under and toss her up
where the full force of the gale could strike
her and make her rigging scream and howl
until every other sound was lost, and then
she would plunge down into the hollow and
= ho Ho;l in atara from her hnyyS
with a roar that was almost as loud as the
bowling of the rigging overhead. She was
rushing along ON Il fair course for her desti-
nation, and her captain was loath to shorten
sail further, but while he hesitated the storm
did it for him. At o'clock, as the vessel
rose ON an unusually large wave, the upper
maintopsail blew clean away with a noise
like the explosion of dynamite bomb, leav-
ing the bolt ropes and few shreds of canvas
to form the outlines of a sail, like the lines
that represent sails in an artists free hand
sketch.
Thus admonished, Capt. Maier prepared to
shorten sail still further. The maintopsail
yard was lowered to the cap, and then the
men began to reeve off spilling lines on the
foresail, intending to take that in next, and
afterward the fore lower topsail. She would
have then been allowed to run for it with
main lower topsail and forestaysail set, but
before they were ready to start tack or sheet,
the foresail blew away as the main upper
topsail had done. 1t was Immediately fol-
lowed by the fore lower topsail, and shreds
of the two pieces of canvas went flying off to
leeward like flock of some new sort of wild
fowl
This was at about o'clock. The effect of
taking so much canvas off her was at once
c,,aa1 Joopaacal and fla
that had before vainly chased her now rose
up and swooped down on her quarter deck
in a way that meant mischief. Pretty soon
one larger than ordinary swept on board and
went crashing along forward, bursting in
cabin doors and windows, and knocking bull
warks to shivers. Another followed, COM
pleting the wreck of the bulwarks, and leav-
ing the deck bare of everything movable ex-
cept the big spare spars lashed on each side
forward of the quarter deck. Such warn
ings could not be ignored. Such seas, if
they continued to board her, would pound
her out of sight in no time She had to be
hove to or founder.
At $50 the word was passed to heave her
to on the port tack, and the men crawled for
ward between seas and hauled down the
foresuaysails A quantity of oil was also
poured over forward to prevent the water
from breaking on board, and then the wheel
was put down and the yards braced. Under
the influence of this work the vessel slowly
got her head around to the south. But al
though the oil prevented to a certain extent
the breaking of the seas about the bow, there
was either too little of it used or it had not
been over long enough to prevent disaster.
AS she got broadside on to the sea a huge
wave broke fair on her deck. She heeled her
lee stanchions out of sight under the infiu-
ence of the blow, and then the next wave
picked her as it were out of the slough and
tossed her as a child might toy boat The
increasing blast struck her, and her sole re-
manning SAIL the lower maintopsail, blew
away like puff of smoke. She threatened to
fall away then and roll herself under in the
trough of the sea, but the men got up bit
of canAas in the weather miZZen rigging. and